Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Latest quarterly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvency numbers increased by 38.9% in March 2023 to a total of 11,438 compared to February’s total of 8,237, and decreased by 1% compared to March 2022’s figure of 11,554. Personal insolvencies increased by 4.4% when compared to March 2021’s total…
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Debt charity StepChange has said that it helped or guided nearly half a million people last year, with more clients receiving full debt advice than in the previous year. Last year saw 171,000 people receive full debt advice compared to 158,000 people in 2021, while a further 312,000 clients used a StepChange money guidance or…
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A new Smart Data Council has been set up to help lower bills for consumers and small firms by making it easier to switch utility providers, the Department for Business and Trade has announced. The loyalty penalty, the difference between what loyal and new consumers pay for the same service, currently sits at £1,114 a…
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Data from the Bank of England shows that banks and building societies have seen an increase in defaults. In the three months to February, lenders said that default rates on secured loans to households, such as mortgages, and unsecured loans, such as credit cards, increased and are expected to increase further in the next three…
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Manchester-based MoneyPlus Group, parent company for the brand MoneyPlus Advice has announced that it has completed the purchase of Exeter-based InControl Debt Solutions. This is the second acquisition for MoneyPlus Group this year after acquiring Bright Oak in February. The deal will see InControl’s customers managed under the MoneyPlus Advice brand. Following a detailed due…
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New research by Credit Karma has found that almost one in four (23%) parents can no longer afford their current childcare arrangements. In the wake of the Spring Budget, which promised 30 hours per week of free childcare for under-fives by 2025, the Great British Credit Report has revealed many parents are being priced out of the…
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The cost-of-living crisis has hit hardest in the North East, where savings are lowest and set to fall the most this year according to new research by Hargreaves Lansdown. The research found that in the North East few people have enough cash at the end of the month, and they have the lowest wages in…
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Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) provider, Creditfix has announced that it will no longer accept referrals from third-party debt packager firms from 1st May 2023. The company says that it hopes that the move will encourage other Insolvency Practitioners to follow suit in the interest of protecting customers – especially as the cost-of-living crisis continues to…
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New research by KPMG has found that one in ten consumers say they are using credit more so far in 2023 and has indicated how households may respond if they no longer receive energy bill support payments from April. The Government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme provided a monthly discount of around £67 from October through…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that second charge mortgage new business volumes fell by 10% in February 2023 Commenting on the latest new business figures for the second charge mortgage market, Fiona Hoyle, Director of Consumer & Mortgage Finance and Inclusion at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), said:…
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Almost half (45 per cent) of consumers say that the cost-of-living crisis will have an impact on their Easter celebrations this year, according to a new study from TopCashback. In fact, over a third (36 per cent) will not be celebrating Easter at all with financial struggles being cited as one of the most popular…
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Low-income households will be left an average of £209 short on their energy bills this financial year, new Which? research has found, as the consumer champion calls for an energy social tariff to protect the most financially vulnerable. Even with the government’s decision to keep the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500 for an average household…
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This weekend’s increase in the minimum wage won’t ‘lift the pressure’ on hard-pressed families, the TUC has warned. The TUC highlighted that the minimum wage will rise below inflation and far lower than soaring food prices. Analysis by the union body shows that minimum wage workers will miss out on £124 this year as a…
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